Friday, March 25, 2011

Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod

Synopsis

Silly and zany, and armed with the most unusual skills, these heroes are out to save the world-one letter at a time! bubble-Man blows big bubbles at bullies, and laughing lass laughs at lawbreakers! together, these one-of-a-kind defenders represent the ABC's in a way never seen before.

Renowned comic-book illustrator Bob McLeod has created a full cast of humorous and delightful characters, sure to please anyone in need of a hero to save the day.

My thoughts:
Yesterday my class went on a field trip to our local library. After the tour and trip were over I spent a few minutes talking to the children's librarian and I found out about a local author who has also worked as a comic book illustrator. Comics are something my family has become more interested in lately and as a family we have visited local comic book stores as well as a comic book expo. I checked out the book to read it to my children.

Each page looks like a page from a comic and the superheros for each of the letters are funny, like "Upside- Down Man" and the "Yellow Yeller". My children laughed at something on almost every page! The librarian mentioned that she recommends the book to parents who are having a hard time convincing their school age children that learning letters can be fun. Just like at school each of the superheros has the letter in their name at least once if not more and the illustrations and captions are all funny and memorable. "Water Woman" swims in the water like a mermaid, without the tail, and "Ms. Incredible" who can become invisible. The superheros are split between female and male characters as well. While there are still more male superheros (19 letters with male characters and 7 with female superheros) it didn't feel as unequal. Girls won't feel left out, but I wish it there had been a few more of them. This would be a fun addition to any library. For now I don't plan on buying it as we can borrow it from the library, but I did have to think about it before making my decision.

Bob Mcleod is a comic-book illustrator who has worked on such projects as Spider-Man, Superman, and The Phantom. SuperHero ABC is his first children’s book. he lives with his wife, Lucy; their three children, Molly, Jeff, and Andy; and their dog, Penny, in Pennsylvania.